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A.O.S.A. 2003 ANNUAL REPORT |
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None of these seemed to faze Gill. She appeared to relish that she had found a school she wanted to attend and determined she was going to make the most of it. Furthermore she did the right thing by joining a class which has already produced three AOSA Presidents, Dorothy Dawson (Easton), the late Arthur Grainge and Dick Dennis! Gill’s father was a Psychiatrist, probably remembered today as a pioneer in Child Psychiatry, and in particular Child Guidance. He was well respected in the North East among professional and lay people alike. It was owing to his professional work with Ayton School that he believed he had found the perfect school for Gill. It says much for Gill’s integrity that, I for one, and I suspect many others, had no suspicion whatsoever that her father was so closely connected with some fellow pupils. I seem to remember Gill’s main interests revolved around writing and all things literary. She was an active member of the Senior Literary Society and enjoyed taking part in play readings, writing diaries etc. Gill wrote poetry for publication in the ‘Beckside’ and with Margaret Carnegie (Wilkinson) she ran a gossip type column, ‘Babblings of the Beck’, for two years, also for the ‘Beckside.’ Gill claims to have no musical talent whatsoever. It seems strange therefore that one of her most vivid memories is of playing ‘Chopsticks’ with Jennifer Wright (Robson) and Joan Haworth (Robinson) in the cold and damp music rooms. It is also somewhat surprising, given this admission, that Gill was an active member of the small and large Choral Societies. Like most of us who were prefects Gill cherishes memories of that damp, little room in Ivy Cottage; the ‘girl prefects room.’ Gill remembers very clearly making toast on the tiny gas fire, adding lashings of tomato sauce and eating it while sitting on the tumble down sofa listening to ‘Billy Cotton’s Bandshow.’ Not athletic and hating games and most sports, Gill managed to dream up a spectacular and somewhat unusual scheme to avoid going anywhere near a sports field - she frequently broke her left ankle. Usually she did this within the confines of the school buildings by falling down the stairs. However, her final fracture was the most memorable as it occurred on the top of Roseberry Topping during a long walk. Perhaps it would not have been so impressive had geography teacher Rod Grosvenor not just said, “Now I want everyone to be particularly careful on the way down, especially you Gill Hinds,” when it happened. Gill was carried down to the road by relays of older boys and masters, who were less than flattering about her weight, and left there alone to await transportation back to school. After leaving Ayton in 1955 Gill had a gap year, during which she met her future husband John whom she married in 1957. John came from Thornaby, his mother had gone to school with Fred Gilbert’s. Between meeting John and getting married Gill spent time with her parents in Devon where they had moved from Northumberland and, where she took a Secretarial Course at Exeter Tech. She also spent the summer of 1956 in France, in Cannes and Chambery, with her French pen friend Annie Guasco. Perhaps sixth formers of the summer of ‘55 will remember Annie, who spent a day at Ayton during the last week of term. Gill is still in touch with Annie. Gill and John Jackson spent their first year of married life in Bristol; after this brief stay in the West Country, they spent the next 20 years doing a Cook’s tour of the Midlands while John developed his career in further education. John ended his career in Wirral where Gill still lives today. Gill and John had three daughters, Helen, Diana and Penny. As a family they enjoyed holidays in France, a country which they all loved. After the girls had grown up, Gill and John continued to visit France annually. In later years they had the good fortune to be able to borrow Joan (Robinson) and Jim Haworth’s lovely flat in Hyeres. In 1972 when daughter Penny was 10, Gill embarked upon a three year course at Warwick University, as a ‘mature student.’ She tells me one of the best parts about the course was having Andrew ‘Daniel Deronda, Dr. Zhivargo’ et al Davies, as an English tutor. After completing her studies at Warwick, Gill went on to teach English and General Studies in Technical Colleges in Coventry, Wirral and Chester. When Gill’s husband John died in 1988, Gill involved herself in work with her local community, including the local Branch of Cruse Bereavement Care. She was a governor of two schools - and the Chair of Governors of the Primary School during its process of amalgamation. She finally retired from the last of these governorships in 2001. It was at Evelyn Nicholson’s suggestion that Gill took over the Editorship of the AOSA Annual Report in 1990. This keeps her rather busy, especially during the weeks after Christmas and leading up to the report’s deadline for printing. While it is a demanding task, Gill thoroughly enjoys being Editor, as it provides her with golden opportunities and excuses to make contact with members of AOSA and with former scholars who are not members. Although now fully retired, she is, and thank goodness she is, still Editor of the AOSA Report. She is also kept busy helping her three daughters with their four daughters, Alexandra, Georgia, Mollie and Hannah. Gill loved Ayton School, where she flourished and made life long friends. She speaks of it with much affection and loyalty and believes she was most fortunate that her father discovered its existence. As a testimony to the friendships she made at Ayton, Elizabeth Alexander (Roberts) and Elizabeth Pearson (Wrightson) are Godmothers to Gill’s daughter Helen. She is regularly in touch with former OS and is warm-heartedly welcoming if any happen to be in the Wirral area and call to see her. Because of Gill’s enormous affection
for Ayton she has always been a very loyal and supportive Old Scholar.
She regularly attends
reunions
and is committed to being Editor of the AOSA Annual Report and a member
of the Executive Committee. I was delighted to be asked to write this
profile of our President Elect as I am equally delighted that Gill
is to become President for the forthcoming year, an honour she most
definitely
deserves. I wish her an outstandingly happy reunion weekend and year
ahead. Helen Watson (Woollam) 1947-1954 | |
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Gill
arrived at Ayton School in 1950 - not only in the unenviable position
of joining in the middle of the school year at the start of the summer
term, but into the third form to boot. Neither could have been easy;
new school, away from home, all your peers street wise into the way
of Ayton life, knowing the ‘tricks’ of Ayton’s trade
and probably into established friendships.